[dropcap]C[/dropcap]ommissioner of Police Lagos State Police Command, Imohimi Edgal, weekend, urged the leadership of the Nigeria Customs to take stringent measures against any trigger-happy officer found culpable in the death of any civilian, with a view to serving as deterrent to others.
This followed the alleged killing of a man and the shooting of a pregnant woman in Lagos and Ogun states last week by Custom officers.
Edgal who gave the advice during a courtesy visit on him by the Comptroller of Customs, Federal Operation Unit, Zone A, Ikeja, Comptroller Mohammed Uba, noted that the unit operations at times involved conflicts and confrontation with smugglers who insist on having their way.
Rather than recording loss of life in the ensuing confrontation as witnessed last week, he advised that enlightenment of Customs officers on the use of firearms should be intensified.
He cited an instance of two policemen who were dismissed from the Force two weeks ago, for allegedly firing at some youths in Amukoko area of Lagos without justification.
He said, “We (Police) also have problem relating to the use of firearms. In the Police the use of firearms is guided by Force Order 236. I am sure the Customs also have such. I did not feel happy dismissing the two policemen who shot at some youths recently but the action was taken in public interest. I believe if the Customs deploy such measures, it will serve as deterrent to would-be culprits.”
[dropcap]T[/dropcap]he Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Seme Border Command, has intercepted 2,200 jerry cans of smuggled of petrol with a Duty Paid Value worth over N10 million between Dec. 1, 2017 and January 2018.
The Command’s Chief Public Relations Officer, Taupyen Selchang made this known in a statement on Monday. The statement quoted the Area Controller of the Command, Mohammed Aliyu, as saying that most of the seizures were made at Pashi-Yekeme Community in Owode and the creeks.
Aliyu said that the Command was determined to combat the smuggling of petroleum products usually done by the smugglers using jerry cans and passing through the creeks and illegal routes. He said that they were not banning the use of trucks to transport the products to the communities along the border where they were legitimately meant to serve as was being wrongly and widely speculated by some people.
The Controller explained that smuggling of petrol in jerry cans had been a recurring decimal which operatives of the NCS had always tried to suppress. “This has been our modest contribution toward ameliorating the sufferings of Nigerians caused by the current shortage of the product,’’ he said.
The Customs boss said that the Command had always and would continue to enforce her statutory mandate of revenue generation, suppression of smuggling and facilitation of legitimate trade.
[dropcap]T[/dropcap]he persistent fuel crisis Nigeria has been made to undergo reflects the curse which oil has become to an oil rich country; in fact, the sixth largest oil producer in the world. That curse shows glaringly in the paradox that such an endowed country almost wholly depends on imported finished fuel products for driving its energy needs. Yes, the country has drunk full from the blessings from oil. Oil has yielded bountifully since it was discovered in commercial quantity. Oil has yielded rich harvest to a country that is equally blessed with other resources. But from all indices, oil has rather led to a harvest of tears and regrets as its discovery marks the abandonment of other resources in preference to the effortless mining of oil and the huge payoff that comes from crude. How best to show this than that before the advent of oil, Nigeria was running very efficiently as an agricultural nation where cash crop was the source of an efficient system that benefitted the people and added greatly to the country’s infrastructural base, but has been abandoned in the craze for oil wealth?
When oil came, Nigerians changed focus, abandoned agriculture and other income sources and all attention was diverted to oil, with its rich harvest of petro dollars. Curiously, as oil gained traction and indeed, transformed into the nation’s sole revenue earner, corruption blossomed, development stymied and the mass poverty increased. With oil as the country’s sole revenue source, the directive principles of state policy assumed a deadly tenor as the struggle to corner oil resources came to define governance, politics and relationship between the combustible ethnic units that make up the country. With oil, deep fissures and divisions emerged not only between the various people that make up the country but between the classes as closeness to oil came to define the strata of the society.
Oil seemed to have funded only the huge corruption complex that came with it. With the government fixated on sharing oil revenue, other sources of revenue were allowed to go extinct and a social system that calibrated the citizens along the oil chain emerged. Attachment to this chain became a defining charter in our national scale as oil gained importance in the international commodity market. The stupendous rise in the price of oil added to the problem as Nigerians struggled to get attachment to its high yielding chain. But these never transformed to the wellbeing of the people. What more, there was no noticeable improvement in the oil process. There was no noticeable indigenous input in the sector. The exploration and mining were wholly outsourced and left in the hands of expatriate companies and the modest state investment in refining either for local use or even exportation was not improved upon. What rather emerged is a cache of indigenous petrol importers and marketers who exploited the helplessness of the Nigerian people to grow exceedingly rich merely by fiddling with imported petroleum products. Curiously, they made no attempt to plough back the illicit wealth they got from this mindless exploit to the development of the sector.
The above scenario has been grown and allowed to blossom for many years now to not only make Nigeria wholly dependent on imported fuel but susceptible to the tempestuousness and vagaries that follow the international oil market. The crux of the matter is that refineries built by past military regimes have been allowed to rot away by successive governments before the advent of the present regime who have recovered some chunk of their operational capacity to ease what would have been a very messy situation. At a fully operational refining capacity of 450,000 daily, the existing refineries fall hugely short of the petroleum needs of Nigeria at present. Yes, they were built for the needs of the country at the time they were built but there was that inherent supposition that successive governments would be adding to them as the needs of the country blossom with expanding population. But nothing of that sort was done for decades now. Rather, as the corruption complex around the oil industry quadrupled in leaps and bounds, these refineries served as conduits for multi-billion Naira looting in the guise of unending turn-around maintenance contracts that never improved their lots.
As the refineries were used for massive stealing, they rotted away till they became inoperable scraps from which the present government has battled to recover some appreciable degree to support the local fuel demands. Because successive governments found it so attractive to depend wholly on imported finished products, no efforts were made to either rehabilitate the existing refinery or add new refineries. What more, fuel importation became a huge cash cow and a flowering corruption font for enriching sundry interests by successive governments. This paradoxical state where Nigeria, as the sixth largest oil producer on earth, became the largest net fuel importer gradually grew and with it, a gargantuan corruption that soon over swept the entire country and became the main business in town.
Because the fluctuations in the international crude market was bound to affect this dependent regime, it was impossible for fuel importers to consistently fiddle with fuel prices as crude prices fluctuate as this was bound to unleash chains of unpalatable social crisis, the government will have to subsidize imported fuel prices for there to be a stability in prices. This was what led to the notorious subsidy scheme, which itself became another huge cesspool of fleecing the country and expanding the frontiers of corruption. Subsidy, as a policy, would have been a non-issue if Nigeria has optimal refining capacity to ensure adequate supply of refined petroleum products for its expanding populace. The existing refineries were designed for a population of between 50 and 60 million, at optimal operation capacity. With our population at over 180 million, there is no doubt that the existing refineries, even if they were operating at full capacity, would merely meet the needs of a little fraction of our population. So there was need for regular maintenance of the existing refineries to keep them at optimal level while building new refineries for Nigeria to meet her local fuel needs but these imperatives were all abandoned and Nigeria made to depend on imported fuel. So subsidy would not have happened if Nigeria had full refining capacity and crude supplied to these refineries at tolerable local price.
So, the Nigerian oil industry was converted to a huge corruption complex and the ordinary Nigerians were structured as the ultimate brunt bearers and financiers of this massive corruption. Over the years, the corruption has been deepened. Since President Buhari came to power, there has been decisive actions to unhinge this deeply rooted corruption and this led to the expunging of the hugely corrupt subsidy regime that was so manipulated to corruptly enrich many interests that are attached to those in power. But then, without local refining capacity, it would be difficult to control the price of fuel without somehow, subsidizing the price of imported fuel in the midst of global fluctuation in oil prices. That is why we are having the supply glitches we have been having since December and the government should be bold to address it.
Methinks that a highly controlled and transparent subsidy regime, not the scrambled corrupt subsidy scheme that existed before Buhari came, would be in order. The present government should weigh in with a transparent subsidy regime that takes care of the rise in petroleum products to ensure that the present price regime is not tampered with. There is nothing wrong with a transparent subsidy process. Why Nigerians were against the subsidy regime before now was because of the widespread abuses and total lack of transparency that attended it. It got to a point the immediate past government paid a whopping N2.1 trillion as doubtful subsidy to oil marketers without corresponding supply of imported fuel. With the vastly improved transparent culture this government conducts its policies, I believe it can enthrone a transparent and open process of subsidizing imported refined products so as to ensure that Nigerians are not subjected to the whims and selfish caprices of hawkish petroleum importers.
All said, the tremendous promises of the Dangote refinery, which promises to start operation next year, should gladden the hearts of Nigerians that somehow, a Nigerian has come to the rescue from many years of official ineptitude and corruption. The Dangote refinery is expected to end this cyclical embarrassment of total dependence on petroleum products and the businessman needs commending for this giant intervention. Is it not curious that the many other people that made huge gains from the corrupt twists in the petroleum industry never deemed it proper to invest the loot they got from the oil sector into developing the sector as Dangote is doing? He deserves our kudos but before his refinery comes on steam, the government must develop a supply template to keep the product available to Nigerians while not increasing the price to reflect international crude pricing. The only option is a transparent subsidy regime that will take care of the difference between the present landing cost of imported fuel and the existing controlled price of petrol. There is no way out of the crisis than this.
Aniocha North Chairman, Chuks Oseme with his Councillors
[dropcap]T[/dropcap]he Chairman of Aniocha North Local government Area, Hon. Chuks Oseme has sworn-in and inaugurated Councillors who will man the activities of the Legislative arm of the Council for the next three years.
The event which took place today at the council’s secretariat, witnessed the oath taking by the 14 lawmakers who were declared winners by the Delta State Independent Electoral Commission (DSIEC) in the just concluded Local Government Elections in the State.
This inauguration as marshaled by the Chairman, has rendered the initial inauguration of Monday 15th January, null and void which was allegedly supervised by some State actors who were reported to have hijacked the democratic process in the council.
It will be recalled that on the Tuesday January 16, 2017, pandemonium was averted as fracas broke out between supporters of two PDP groups at the council’s secretariat which was swiftly brought to halt by officers of the Police Force.
Investigations revealed that, for the timely intervention of security agencies, crisis would have engulfed Aniocha North as some PDP faithfuls loyal to various cabals in the Area were gearing to take on each other following the inauguration of 10 Councillors on Monday without the input of the Council Chairman.
Hon. Oseme while administering the Oath of Office, charged the new Councillors to abide to their oath and bring their wealth of experience to the development of the council.
The Chairman thanked Governor Ifeanyi Okowa for the opportunity given to them to serve in a democratic setting. “it is the first time we are having back to back administration without caretaker committee. Our Governor is a man of wisdom who believes so much in democracy. What we are doing here today, after God is our amiable Governor’s hand work. He gave us the platform to do it”. Oseme extoled.
While enjoining the Councillors to go back to their respective wards and reconcile with aggrieved members of their great party, PDP, Oseme urged them to remove sentiment and rancour in politicking, noting that where only unity and love are, development abounds.
Earlier, the Special Assistance on Media to the Chairman of Aniocha North local government area, Comrade Anazia Matthew condemned orchestrated reports on the purported inauguration of the legislative arm of the council area.
In a statement as obtained, Anazia said that the executive chairman of the council, Hon. Chuks Oseme never proclaimed any letter dated 15th January neither did he direct the Deputy Clerk of the House to read or preside over the inauguration as it was reported in the Pointer Newspaper and an online portal using his name for the inauguration.
According to the published report, it read that, “the Inauguration of the Local Legislative Arm was sequel to the proclamation for the inauguration by the Executive Chairman of the Local Government, Hon. Chuks Oseme, through a proclamation letter dated January 15th, 2018 and read by the Deputy Clerk of the Aniocha North Legislative Arm, Mr. Michael Monye, who presided over the ceremony”
The media assistance who described the story as untrue, mischievous and capable of misleading the people of Aniocha North, urged the people of the council to discard and disregard such report that is capable of destroying the local government.
Female Councillors in Aniocha North Local Government Area
Continuing, Anazia stated that, Hon. Chuks Oseme was not aware of any inauguration of the councillors and never directed anybody to represent him, saying that the purported inauguration was null and void and unconstitutional.
“Hon. Oseme is a law abiding citizen of Aniocha North and a respecter of law, whose council’s interest is his priority. Oseme has said over and over again that his personal interest will not override the interest of the people of Aniocha North, and urged the people to drop their personal interest and consider public’s interest for the development of the area”, he emphasized.
[dropcap]T[/dropcap]he Peace Corps of Nigeria has decried continuous harassment of its members by officers of the Nigeria police in Lagos. The Southwest Zonal Commandant, Peace Corps of Nigeria, Mutairu Habib who stated this while speaking with Newsmen in Lagos said there is a court judgment which rule against the police on the harassment of its men.
He appealed to the Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Edgal Imohimi and other police officers to desist from harassing its officers across the state. Habib said thirty-four Peace Corps officials were illegally arrested by the police and arraigned at a Magistrate Court in Oshodi but were acquitted by the Magistrate for want of diligent prosecution on Thursday. He said the Peace Corps was hit with utmost shock and trepidation when on Friday, 22 September, 2017, 34 of its officers who were on their way to attend a function to commemorate the World Peace Day 2017 which was celebrated worldwide the previous day were arrested and detained by men of the Nigerian Police.
Habib added that the 34 officers were summarily arraigned the following day at the Lagos State Magistrate court, Oshodi, on three count charge of impersonation, conspiracy and breach of peace. “The matter came up before the magistrate court at four different sittings, at each sitting, the police always failed to appear or bring up witnesses to buttress the three count charges against our officers. The matter came up again on Thursday 18 January, 2018 for trial for the fourth time, all the defendants being present in court as usual. But the police were absent,” he lamented. According to him, the court eventually struck out the charges against the defendants and discharged all the 34 defendants based on the application of the defendant counsel for want of diligent prosecution.
Source : Grassroots Publishers
[dropcap]F[/dropcap]ormer international football star George Weah was sworn in as Liberia’s new president on Monday, in the country’s first transition between democratically-elected leaders since 1944. Weah, 51, took over from Nobel laureate Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, who spent 12 years at the helm, steering the West African nation away from the trauma of a civil war.
He was sworn in as president by the chief justice of the Supreme Court, Francis Korkpor.
The ceremony took place at a packed sports stadium near the capital, Monrovia, with several African heads of state in attendance, along with friends and former colleagues from Weah’s football years.
Crowds queued for kilometres (miles) to reach the stadium, singing, dancing and waving the Liberian flag as they waited. Weah has vowed to make prosperity and job creation the hallmarks of his presidency. Liberia is one of the poorest countries in the world, ranking a mere 177th on the 188 countries in the Human Development Index compiled by the UN Development Programme.
[dropcap]“T[/dropcap]he true worth of a man is in the way he treats people who are absolutely in need. If you care about people in need, you are actually making a contribution to the development of the nation. We need to give life back to the people; democracy is important in governance. We need to see how we can use the available resources for everybody; create opportunities for all and care, especially for those who are truly in need. The gap between the rich and the poor should be bridged. Those of us blessed with material resources need to share with others. We must strike a balance with our resources.” This is the Philosophy of our principal Hon. Esewezie according to Dr Ruth Nkeaka.
Hon. Innocent Esewezie
“TEAM ESEWEZIE” has practically described Hon. Innocent Esewezie, their principal as a good leader, with the character of humility, passion for service, respect, fairness, accountability and a model others can follow. Hon. Innocent Esewezie is a quintessential leader and gentleman. He is the embodiment of cerebral articulation, the essence of unparalleled philanthropy, the epitome of intellection and breathtaking simplicity, the personification of undiluted humanness, the perfect example of leadership symbolism, the paragon of idealism, the soul of humanity, the heart of warrior, and a perfect gentleman.
Indeed, some leaders are born, some achieve leadership, and some have leadership thrust upon them, while only very few have all three embedded in them. Hon. Innocent Esewezie is one of those very few good men; a true philanthropist, an accomplished Politician, a man of valour, the bringer of rain. In the gallery of great leaders and great men, he is without doubt, a rare masterpiece. Hon. Esewezie is elegant and unblemished in the magisterial lithe and athleticism of folkloric Kings and heroes, with unfettered, excellent diction and oratory; his brilliant smile like sparkling sun radiating from crystal clear eyes and he cuts the dapper, debonair figure and personality of the complete man he has truly metamorphosed into in the last Fifteen years.
In this interview with the Grassroots Publishers, members of “TEAM ESEWEZIE” discussed extensively on the antecedents of their principal and why he is the one to beat in Oshimili North Local Government House of Assembly race come 2019.
Excerpts:
What is “TEAM ESEWEZIE” all about?
“TEAM ESEWEZIE” is a name culled from our principal’s name, Hon. Innocent Esewezie. It can also be referred to as “Ozigbo-Ozigbo (Sharp-Sharp) Team”. The team is made up of people of integrity, men and women of great valour, vibrant youths who have made mark in their various areas of careers. We have Medical Doctor, Lawyers, Entrepreneurs and so many others. We came together to form this team because we believe in our Principal, his ideology, and antecedents.
Grassroots Publishers in a group picture with “Team Esewezie” during the interactive section
Who is Hon. Innocent Esewezie?
Hon. Innocent Esewuzie is a vibrant young man is who started his political career from the grassroots who is solidly rooted and grounded and he has successfully served in various capacities. He was appointed Transition committee member representing Ward 5 (2002-203), duly elected Councilor, Ward 5 in Ibusa (2004-2007), appointed as Oshimili North Coordinator in Uduaghan Vision Movement in 2007, appointed political aide to then State PDP Chairman, Sen. Peter Nwaoboshi (2008-2010), appointes Special Assistance, Political Affairs to the former Gov. Uduaghan (2011), appointed Chairman, Oshimili North Transition Committee (2012-2014), appointed Oshimili North Campaign Coordinator for 2015 election, appointed Coordinator of Okowa’s Senatorial Campaign Organisation in 2011, Coordinator, Oshimili North PDP Campaign for 2015 election (delivered on all elections), presently he is the Delta North representative in Directorate of Orientation since 2015 till date, Coordinator of Oshimili North Laison Officers (2017), Director-General, State Community Youths Association (2017 till date). He is a grassroots mobilizer, philanthropist, and a man of integrity.
Why the choice of your principal, Hon Innocent Esewezie?
Hon. Esewezie is a grassroots politician who has been with Peoples Democratic Party since 2002. A very loyal fellow who has been given several opportunities to serve the people in the past. He has always delivered in any assignment he was given to carry out. For example, he has served as a Councilor, Transition Chairman of his L.G.A and has equally served in different capacities as Senior Adviser (SA), Personal Assistance (PA) and currently he is holding three appointments in the Gov. Okowa’s administration. This is due to his proactiveness and hard work. So, I must tell you confidently that Team Esewezie is already out to make sure our Principal gets to the right place come 2019 for the grassroots to start enjoying the dividends of democracy and that is why we are creating the awareness for the good people of Oshimili North LGA to vote for him as our next Delta State House of Assembly Member because our people need a vibrant voice and a quality representative.
What can you say are his achievements as a Councilor, Transition Chairman and currently as the DG, Delta State Community Youths Development, Member representing Delta North in Directorate of Orientation?
Hon. Esewezie, when he was Oshimili North Transition Chairman, he left a landmark which no one has beaten even till today.
• He organized a free medical care for both the Ibusa axis and the North-North axis of which hundreds of people were beneficiaries. He repaired a lot of damaged equipments in Ebu Health centre.
• During his tenure as the Transition Chairman also, social vices especially cultism was brought to its barest minimum in Ibusa, Illah, Okpanam, and the entire Oshimili North.
• He also set up a security network with various security agencies, Nigeria Police Force, Vigilante Group, hunters to ensure utmost protection of lives and properties and that is why during his tenure, the issue of kidnapping, robbery, cultism was drastically reduced.
• In collaboration with the Delta State Ministry of Communication and Information Technology, he built a skills acquisition centre fully equipped with modern facilities and one year internet subscription for the Ibusa youths.
• He used his good office to convene, coordinate, collaborate and support several Youths-Oriented programmes in the local government and across the state in general, one of such programmes is “Cultism and the Nigerian Child Youth” programme.
• During his tenure as Transition Chairman, over four hundred women were also empowered as they were employed as sanitation officers during which they worked twice a week and get paid at the end of the month.
• As a Transition Chairman, he completed the abandoned Ultra-Modern Eke market (Ashia Eke) at Ibusa with a sound-proof 100kv Generator set to power the market and same with Ebu market.
• When Sure-P programme came on board, a lot of people benefitted from the empowerment; Cars, Sewing machines, Grinding machines, etc were given out to entrepreneurs, artisans and so on to enable them start up their own business. Hon. Esewuzie also donated chairs, tables, textbooks, novels, etc to schools. He also installed street lights in some parts of Ibusa.
• He also reconstructed the Ogbe-Owelle town hall, and rebuilt the Ibusa Palace (Nkata) in Ibusa.
• As a Transition Chairman, he was able to settle the long Omu dispute in Ebu and later placed the Omu on a monthly salary. He also played a major role in settling the long dispute between the Obuzor of Ibusa and Diokpa before his tenure expired as a peace maker.
Why is it that most of these projects he established are grounded and abandoned by the present administration?
Well, as we all know that government is continuity and there is no way he will leave office and still be taking care of those infrastructures he provided; that will amount to interference. His successor is expected to continue from where he stopped. For example, the Eke market at Ibusa which was abandoned was completed by him when he came on board as the Transition Chairman.
For the past 12 years, Hon. Pat Ajudua has been representing Oshimili North Constituency in Delta State House of Assembly. What makes you think that your Principal can unseat her?
Thank you very much. You know our Principal, Hon. Innocent Esewezie is a grassroots man, a political mobilizer and loved by everybody both young and old. So, the only man who has the antidote to dethrone the incumbent is our Principal, Hon. Innocent Esewezie. We have earlier talked more on his achievements in the various positions he has held both in the past and present. Our political Agenda name “Ozigbo-Ozigbo” means swinging into action immediately and that is our principal for you. He is one man who does not wait for even a minute to implement his plans to produce positive results for any assignment given to him. If you witnessed the last Council election held on January 6, 2018 at Ibusa, when he came to vote at his Ward, both youths and aged were cherished him and they were all all calling on him to rescue the Local Government come 2019 as the local government needs a total liberation because of his antecedents and acceptance by the grassroots. Recall that as Senior Special Adviser to the Governor on Youths Development, he was basically on every news item that relates to the youths not only in Oshimili North but the entire Delta because he operates an open door policy rather than a family venture. We should not also forget in a haste that based on his inherent passion for service and flare for hard work, His Excellency, Governor Okowa appointed him as Director-General of Community Youth Associations in the state. This goes to show that he is hardworking, understands the grassroots politics of the state and surely delivers on all assignments given to him by his leaders. We therefore state categorically that it will be a great disservice to the good people of Oshimili North if he fails to listen to the voice of the masses by dethroning the incumbent because Oshimili North needs a positive change and a vibrant voice.
With reference to 2015 when the “Asaba Kpoi Agenda” came on board, the masses were so happy with the development and thought their messiah has come but were dismayed when suddenly your principal withdrew from the race reason being that the political leaders have directed so. I hope the same story will not repeat itself this time?
No. Not at all. We strongly believe that PDP is democratic in nature and will not allow the same story to continue repeating itself. Aside the PDP political leaders, the Oshimili North elders and youths have also endorsed him not because of political interest but because of his antecedents. He is widely accepted in the council because even the last state council election made us believe more that he is really a man of the people because as jubilation were ongoing over his supporter’s victory, people were congratulating him as if he was the one who won the election. So, our leader, Sen. Peter Nwaoboshi has promised all aspirants of level playing field so it is no longer business as usual. All contestants should work harder for their votes to match our Principal while we eagerly await who crosses the finishing line first. I can assure you that “Ozigbo-Ozigbo Agenda” is the man to beat come 2019.
What can you say about other aspirants and what do you have to tell the electorate?
Well, anybody is free to contest for any position of his or her interest. As an action man, our principal is ever ready to go for the contest at primary level and hopefully at the election proper and we also enjoin other aspirants to come on board for the contest and whoever emerges winner at the primary level according to the people’s choice go ahead with the election proper. The electorate should also not be afraid to support a man, who is ready to make a change; who has the interest of the grassroots at heart. I know that other aspirants are afraid of our Principal, Hon. Innocent Esewezie because he is a grassroots man and mobilizer.
Are you assuring our people that the “Ozigbo-Ozigbo Agenda” is battle ready to defeat any opponent?
(Laughs) We know what we have; we know our principal’s antecedents. The “Ozigbo-Ozigbo Agenda” is not in war with anybody. The upcoming election is just a race not war but we strongly believe that the masses are much awake and exposed now. It is no longer going to be business as usual. The masses will decide.
How ready is your Principal financially as you that election in Nigeria these days is money?
Well, my Principal is fully ready to finance all his campaign and we want to assure you that the electorate are wiser now, so if any aspirant is thinking or planning of buying the electorate over, he or she is making a mistake because we need a voice and not a concur member and you know that our Principal, Hon. Innocent Esewezie does not fall in that category.
What is your message to the good people of Oshimili North?
People should know that we need change at this time and should not be bought over with money as it has always played out in every election period. They should look out for the most popular candidate who will give us a voice in the House of Assembly and take us to the next level.
Grassroots Publishers in a group picture with “Team Esewezie” during a courtesy visit
What is your Principal’s assurance to the masses as regards security?
Well, he has done it before and he will do it again. I want to remind you that when he was the Council Transition Chairman, he fought cultism and crime to barest minimum and equally engaged the youths who were into those social vices. We also want to use this opportunity to advice the youths not to submit themselves to be used as electoral thugs or cause chaos during elections. They should remain instruments of peace and harmony and ensure they vote the right candidate for the Delta State House of Assembly come 2019, which is Hon. Innocent Esewezie.
[dropcap]O[/dropcap]ur Proactive senator representing Delta north in the National Assembly, Barrister Peter Nwaoboshi has given reasons for sponsoring the amendment of the Act establishing the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC). In a chat with journalists, the most distinguished senator said that his major reason was to create more monies for the commission. He recounted that both the federal government and oil companies were defaulting in their payments to the NDDC.
For instance, he said: “The federal government was supposed to have been paying 50% ecological fund to the commission but it failed to pay. The oil companies which also were to pay 3% of their real annual budgets reneged, for 17 years now.”Speaking further, the Senate committee chairman on Niger Delta Affairs, who has been code-named the most performing senator went on to say that the Nigeria Liquified Natural Gas (NLNG) had taken the NDDC to law courts and won the cases.
As a lawyer, he said, “I thought the best bet was to amend the act.” In truth, there were two essential amendments that were done. Apart from this one which seeks to generate more funds for the NDDC, the other was on the membership of the board.
“Before now, anybody could be appointed into the board of the commission, but with the amendments, only persons from oil producing local government areas would be appointed into the board.
The other aspect, he said, was to look into the core mandates of the commission to disallow the unnecessary influx of those who had no reason being there.
Sen. Nwaoboshi regretted that the commission was also bedeviled with a lot of anormalies, particularly on its wage bill, stressing that his committee had demanded the actual staff strength of the commission but nothing has been done about it till date.
He was also quick to say that “one other great effort we have achieved was to make the Executive Director, Finance, of the NDDC, a member of the federal allocation committee (FAC), to enable him know and determine how funds are allocated to NDDC.
On whether the law was retroactive? Sen. Nwaoboshi said no. He went futher to explain that only bad laws were retroactive. He commended his distinguished colleagues and members of the House of Representatives who, according to him, welcome the bill for the amendment of the act. He said that it was a popular bill in both Chambers.
He further revealed that the department of petroleum resources, DPR, has been mandated to urge the oil companies to submit their annual budgets.
He further said that, for mr President to have assented to the NDDC Act (as amended), on December 29, 2017, the last working day of the year, was a good omen, remarking that those arrears of monies owed to the commission would be paid.
The law before it was sponsored for amendment by Senator Peter Nwaoboshi, had given most Oil Companies, particularly the NLNG, a legal window of escape of payments and contributions to the coffers of the NDDC. The protracted legal battle which brewed between NLNG and the NDDC went as far as the Supreme Court of Nigeria, which had thrown the weight of legal opinions of the lower courts and even to the Supreme Court in favour of Nigeria Liquified Natural Gas. (NLNG)
From the fore-going it is no longer gainsaying that the people of Delta North Senatorial District have a vibrant voice in the Red Chamber of the National Assembly, as Sen. Peter Nwaoboshi is waxing stronger everyday.
….Says He Is Niger Delta Version of Zik, Awo, Balewa and Bello
..Blasts Wike for Sacking Port Harcourt, Obio -Akpor and Ikwerre L.G.A Chairmen
Rt. Hon. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi
[dropcap]R[/dropcap]ivers State Chapter of All Progressives Congress, APC has described the unprecedented and monumental gathering of the Traditional Rulers, Political leaders, sons and daughters of Ikwerre extraction in Rivers State on 13th January 2018 at Isiokpo, the Traditional Headquarters of the Ikwerre Ethnic Nationality to honour one of their most illustrious sons, Rt. Hon. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi the erstwhile Governor of Rivers State and the incumbent Minister of Transportation as historical, epochal and monumental.
This great event organised by the Ikwerre Youth Movement (IYM) the foremost socio-cultural organisation in Ikwerre land was to solemnize the Chieftaincy title earlier conferred on Chief Amaechi by the Ikwerre Traditional Rulers abiding by all the traditional rites of the ancient Ikwerre heritage as “EZE OCHI ALIRI 1 of IKWERRE Land” which means the person who stands tall to take on and ward off any challenge in a family or Community. Briefly, he is the “Redeemer of His people” (Ikwerre) or “The wise Defender of the Ikwerre kingdom”.
The event unprecedented in recent time in the annals of social and political gathering in Rivers State commenced with 21 traditional gun shots to welcome Amaechi and over a million of persons from Ikwerre the largest ethnic group in Rivers State with friends and supporters to accord honour to this great son of Nigeria and to thank President Muhammadu Buhari for the honour done to their son and Leader of Rivers
State politics.
The Organisers through the President General of Ikwerre Youths Movement (IYM) and one of the greatest grass-root Mobilisers from Rivers State, Hon. Azubuike Chikere Wanjoku expressed their profound gratitude to President Buhari for assisting their son to demonstrate to the entire world the stuff he is made up with as a great leader in the mould of Zik Awo, Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa and Sir Ahmadu Bello.
In short Amaechi is our own Zik, Awo, Balawa and Saraduna combined the party highlighted.
The party in a press statement circulated on Monday by Chief Eze Chukwuemeka Eze the SSA Media and Public Affairs Consultant to the APC Rivers State Chairman, Dr Ibiamu Davies Ikanya further described Chief Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi the Eze Ochi Aliri 1 of Ikwerre land as a breaker of records stating that the Holy Bible as reflected in the gospel of Mark 6:4, “A prophet is honoured everywhere except in his own hometown and among his relatives and his own family” (New Living Translation) but Amaechi with the event of today have dusted this truism with the millions of Ikwerre sons and daughters his brethren agreeing as one people to honour him for his sterling and outstanding inputs towards the emancipation of the Ikwerre people and for becoming a great Iroko and one of the pillars through which the politics of Nigeria currently rotates.
With this title and recognition Amaechi becomes the most influential Ikwerre man on planet earth.
The party further stated that Chief Amaechi stands out as the only Nigerian that was a Speaker of a State House of Assembly for eight years, Chairman of the Speakers’ Forum of Nigeria, Governor of Rivers State for eight years and two term Chairman of the Nigeria Governors Forum and most historically led an opposition political party to unseat a sitting President in Nigeria.
The party explained that, today, Chief Amaechi is not only changing the face of Transportation in Nigeria as the Minister of Transportation but stands out as one of the key and influential member of President Buhari’ s political Team.
Refers in some quarters as the Lion of Niger Delta Politics, this great son of Rivers State has being reappointed to lead APC to victory come 2019 as the Director General of the Presidential Campaign
Council. No son of Rivers State has achieved such feats to warrant his ethnic tribe to have so honoured him in this manner.
Not minding that the incumbent Governor of Rivers State, Chief Nyesom Ezebunwo Wike is of the Ikwerre extraction but the Ikwerre people in the event pleaded with the Eze Ochi Aliri 1 of Ikwerre to “please, introduce the APC candidate for the 2019 gubernatorial election and 2019 shall be a walk over as Wike has proved what it means not to be a Governor”.
Overwhelmed with the mammoth crowd that attended the event coupled with the resolution by the Ikwerre people to honour Amaechi and to elect an APC candidate by 2019, Governor Wike was so irked to a
boiling point that he immediately ordered the sack of three of the caretaker Committee Chairmen of Ikwerre extraction for not scuttling the reception. The unfortunate sacked Chairmen that earned the wrath
of Gov. Wike were that of Obio-Akpor, Port Harcourt and Ikwerre. The Emouha Chairman was spared the sack hammer as he made attempt to scuttle the event but his attempt could not make any impact as the reception was held without any hitch. It is based on this development that the party blasted Gov Wike for this childish move of sacking these men forgotten that 75% of those in his cabinet were all Amaechi’s product including himself as sacking them will not save him from the woes that await him come 2019.
Without mincing words, the party highlighted that Ikwerre ethnic group comprising of Port Harcourt and three other Local Government Areas of the State is the largest ethnic group in Rivers State and most importantly one of the major deciding factors on who becomes the River State Governor come 2019.
To the Ikwerre Youth Movement, “Amaechi is our liberator. He is the man who broke the shackles of political timidity and wrenched the chains of economic naivety in our domain. This colossus of a man brought political freedom to our very doorsteps and we will henceforth stand by him in all his political calculations.
The elated and excited Amaechi who expressed his appreciation reiterated, “If anybody on earth says I have sat with him at any meeting to plan how to kill someone, that person should step forward.
I swear before God and those of you here, 90% of those who benefitted from Scholarships under me, I never knew them. President Muhammadu Buhari will ensure that the 2019 elections will be free and fair. I
urge all our people to register and obtain their Voters’ Cards to enable them to exercise their franchise as the 2019 elections, especially the governorship, are our last battle. If we win, we will take over Rivers State. If we lose in the election, we will go home and rest. We will not impose any candidate. Anybody who will go for any position, like chairmanship, should go for primaries. Anybody who wins will be the party’s candidate. The President said that there would be no rigging during the 2019 elections. It is to our advantage.
As Ikwerre people, we must give out the power to other ethnic nationalities. But we will be in a position to take it back at any time. Your future is in your hands.”
The party expressed their unflinching gratitude to all Rivers State people that attended the event including the amiable State Chairman, Chief Dr Davies Ibiamu Ikanya, Senator Andrew Uchendu, Dr Dakuku
Peterside the Director General of NIMASA and gubernatorial candidate of the party in 2015 with his running mate, Hon. Honourable Asita.
Chief Victor Giadom, Engr. Ngerebara Sampson, Lauretta Onochie, SA to President Muhammadu Buhari, Hon Leyii Kwanee former Deputy Speaker of Rivers State House of Assembly, Hon Fred Mbombo Igwe, Hon. Tolofari George former Commissioner for Transport in Rivers State, the hard working Party Secretary, Chief Emeka Bekee, AkpoBari Celestine one of the best brains from Ogoni, Chief Oby Ndukwe and countless other leaders that witnessed the event.
[dropcap]I[/dropcap]f you dream to conceive a boy on the certain day of ovulation, you need to learn how to determine this period effectively. At the moment of the ovulation, the egg leaves the ovary, after that it can be fertilized during one day. To determine the perfect time for pregnancy you must subtract the luteal phase from the period of the menstrual cycle – usually, it means a half of a cycle.
If the couple has decided to have a baby, there is often a question about the perfect days to conceive a baby, especially if you dream to have a baby boy. Finding out the perfect day for the birth of a baby is not so difficult, especially in the modern age of the Internet, new technologies and advanced developments. Ovulation calculator for baby boy already exists and we’ll give you the full information. You do not need to carry out difficult calculations to determine the correct ovulation period for baby boy using the difficult temperature measurements. It will be enough to use ovulation calculation for baby boy. It can be found on the web on the numerous specialized sites.
What is ovulation and how to determine it?
The common lady’s menstrual cycle lasts 28 days. It means that the calculation of your ovulation in order to conceive a boy will convince you that conception can happen within 14 days. As soon as the female body is close to the time of ovulation, there is a huge production of a well-known hormone which is called estrogen. And when the estrogen level reaches the level of ovulation, there is a considerable amount of release of luteinizing hormone. The perfect time for a woman to conceive a baby boy is only two days after the release of this special hormone.
It is currently possible to find out everything with the help of specialized home tests demonstrating the level of concentration of LH – you can easily buy them at any pharmacy. It is better to start doing your tests twice a day in the middle of the cycle. A lot of women can easily determine their ovulation by the body signals – it makes a feeling of pain and discomfort in the lungs that day. For others it is an unfamiliar sense – in this case, ovulation calculator will help you to conceive a little boy. In the case of any problems with the cycle regularity, determining the special day for conception will not be easy for you, so it is really recommended to consult your gynecologist, who can easily advise you on this issue.
How to conceive a boy, if you know the day of ovulation?
Ovulation calculation for a boy is a process that is considered the most reliable and efficient, despite its labor intensity. A present method takes into account such the fact that the sperm must be more rapid to conceive a boy than the sperm to conceive a girl, though, and it has a much shorter duration of life. Considering all of the above, the conception should take place on the day of ovulation, or about twelve hours before its occurrence.
If you are interested in how to conceive a boy during your ovulation, and what else can be necessary for the application of this special method, the only thing you have to find out is the time when the ovulation occurs. Gender of a child can be determined by the specialized program which is called Ovulation Calculator.
This is the easiest method to determine a favorable time to pregnancy. The calculator will help you determine the most likely day of ovulation. The accuracy of the calculation program is approximate – women’s menstrual cycle may shift due to infections, journeys, and even simple stress!
If you want to determine when ovulation occurs more accurately, it is also possible to make calculations analyzing the changes in the women’s basal body temperature. This type of temperature should be measured in the rectum daily in the morning, recording the dynamics. Period, when the temperature is the lowest, is the day of ovulation.
On the basis of data for a few months, let you create a table of ovulation to conceive a boy. Such a long period of observation of the temperature of your body will help you to identify the certain day of ovulation, and therefore it will become easier to conceive a boy.
Ovulation calculator for a boy: tips and tricks
If you want to conceive a boy quickly and easily, use the following guidelines and tips:
It is not enough to simply calculate ovulation to conceive a boy; you need to have sex in the correct position. In this question the penetration depth is very important – that is, the deeper it is, the more likely you will conceive a boy. In this case, you are advised to take into account such postures as rider position and ‘the man behind’.
You should not hurry during the sexual intercourse. A woman should have an orgasm during sex to increase the likelihood of conception. The chances are increased by changing the acidity of the vaginal environment; the increasing pH significantly prolongs the viability of sperm.
After sexual intercourse, you should refrain from the shower for a while, and in general, bathroom procedures should be excluded.
A few weeks before the conception you should better increase the amount of different food that contains protein in your diet. You can eat meat, eggs, fish and beans. In addition, it is better to reduce the consumption of all foods that are recommended for the conception of the girl – these are all dairy products and also foods that contain a high amount of fiber. It’s just people’s rumors and observations, not a proved fact, however, in such a complex case any little thing can help.
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